When it comes to flat rides, I feel like I haven't done that many. I've been to quite a few parks now but the UK selection of flat rides seems to just generally interest me more. So, most of these are UK flats but there were a few European ones I couldn't leave out. A word of warning: these are in my ranked order but are interchangeable because I change my mind all the time😂. Let's get into it!
10) Pendulum, Dreamland Margate
Even though Dreamland is my home park, I've only been on this once. It's a 'Zamperla mini discovery revolution 16'. So it's similar to SBF visa's like Axis; just mini. I love this style of flat ride, as seen further up this list, it's just i didn't really like the uncomfortable seats and short ride cycle, but they did the best with the area of land (it's not very big).
9) Tink's Flying School, Oakwood Theme Park
I went to Oakwood for the first time in August 2020, and rode Tink's Flying School. This thing is wild. It's half Chair-O-Plane, half Gerstlauer Sky Fly. It swings in a circle, but has a handle that moves a wing in the front turning you inward or outward. It's so weird😂. The ride if quite old, so was a bit rattly. Nevertheless, such a fun, crazy ride.
8) Serpiente Emplumada, PortAventura
Serpiente was made by Schwarzkopf and opened in 1995. It really surprised me as I'm not normally one for large spinning flat rides and wouldn't bother riding them. But, we were waiting for food and it had a short queue and was just next to were we were waiting, so we rode it, and I loved it! It was so fun and chaotic!
7) Monkey Swinger, Chessington
Honestly, this is a bit of a weird one. Monkey Swinger at Chessington is one of my favourite merlin flat rides, and has been for ages. It's so fun, looks really pretty and the water jets are crazy. An all round ride that is fun for everyone.
6) Samurai, Thorpe Park
Yes, the first time I rode this was 2020. Yes, I hadn't ridden it before last year. I've never had a problem with spinning rides yet I was always cautious of riding samurai. So, after I'd done everything at adventure island a few days before I showed myself that I was fine with spinny rides so finally rode it, and really liked it.
5) Maelstrom, Drayton Manor
Intamin gyro-swings are amazing. Especially when they're themed. Maelstrom matches pretty theming, a thrilling ride and a ride that can still be ridden by slightly younger children. I've ridden it a lot now as there are never queues at Drayton and it's one of the best rides there. Just such a great all round ride.
4) Rush, Thorpe Park
I have been on Rush many times now and it never lets be down. the forces, hangtime and views are amazing, and the lap bars just add to that. it isn't themed, it can get a bit of a queue but I always make sure to ride it because those forces are incredible!
3) Axis, Adventure Island
Axis is incredible. I went to adventure island expecting to have a fun day, but knowing that it wouldn't be as good as some of the other parks we were going to on the trip, but I really liked it. I knew Axis existed but I didn't know that it would be so good. It's an SBF Visa Maxi Dance Party 360, so similar to an Intamin Gyro Swing, and it goes upside down. It had a short queue, had comfortable seats, had amazing staff that were so nice and had the best hangtime. An all round great ride!
2) Apocalypse, Drayton Manor
I'm a sucker for drop towers. They can be themed beautifully, have better throughputs than most rides (the larger ones anyway) and have that gut-wrenching plummet that still scares me. Apocalypse may not have the best theming, but floorless tilted towards the ground is one of the scariest rides you'll have on anything in the UK.
1) Hurukan Condor
Is anyone surprised? No. Is it one of the best flat rides in Europe? Yes. At a staggering 330ft tall, it's hard not to be scared by this ride. It's the same mode as Apocalypse, just larger. And it's also really well themed, which is a bonus. It has such an incredible drop that I absolutely love, but also get scared by, and sometimes I want to be scared by rides.
What are you're favourite flat rides? Are any of them similar to mine? I'd love to hear what you think!
Cleo
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